To be perfectly frank, I'm a little nervous about Ramadan. There are so many rules, and, it seems to me, so many opportunities to break the rules. In some ways, daily life in Qatar is rife with chances to mess up as a Western expat, but Ramadan seems to put all that in greater relief. Luckily, we will only be here for a few days of our first Ramadan, since we fly out on July 1st, and this year the season starts on June 28th or thereabouts (the timing has a lot to do with the moon, I think). And, of course, the rules I need to follow are nothing compared to the rules for the believers, as it were, but still.
So, a quick review for those not familiar: during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all adult Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, having sex, and any other temptations from sunrise to sunset for about 30 days. They also usually offer more prayers than normal and recite from frequently from the Quran and often make substantial charitable donations. The meal before dawn is called the suhoor and the meal after sunset is called the iftar. Iftar feasts are reportedly elaborate and delicious. Children, the insane, those who are ill, those who are traveling, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are among those who are excused from fasting, though in many of these instances the fasting needs to be made up at a later date. Ramadan is a period of increased spirituality and as such all the of usual rules that govern Muslim society are given even more emphasis during this time.
So how does this affect us?
I realize as I type this that my nervousness about all these trivial issues is completely ridiculous and I've already worked out solutions for most potential areas of concern, but I feel a little anxiety nonetheless. Mainly, I'm just worried about the unknown. We have never experienced Ramadan before, let alone in a Muslim country, so I just don't know a whole lot about how things work here. And those of you who know me know I really, really don't like not knowing what's going on at all times! Next year, Ramadan starts two weeks earlier, while school is still in session, supposedly, though I have heard that our academic schedule will be adjusted accordingly, so I'll be interested to see how that works, particularly as the boys' school is predominantly Arabic right now. I will, of course, let you know how it goes at the end of the month this year. We shall see!
So, a quick review for those not familiar: during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all adult Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, having sex, and any other temptations from sunrise to sunset for about 30 days. They also usually offer more prayers than normal and recite from frequently from the Quran and often make substantial charitable donations. The meal before dawn is called the suhoor and the meal after sunset is called the iftar. Iftar feasts are reportedly elaborate and delicious. Children, the insane, those who are ill, those who are traveling, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are among those who are excused from fasting, though in many of these instances the fasting needs to be made up at a later date. Ramadan is a period of increased spirituality and as such all the of usual rules that govern Muslim society are given even more emphasis during this time.
So how does this affect us?
- I am glad to hear that children are exempt from fasting, because eating is one of the only ways I can convince my boys that all the time we spend in the car is not absolutely awful for everyone. As non-Muslims, we are not required to fast, nor would the boys need to fast at their ages, but we need to be very discreet and avoid eating in public out of respect for those who are fasting. I have heard that there are restaurants that are still open here where you can eat behind screens or in the back or something, but I am not sure how one goes about finding these establishments, because just asking around seems, I don't know, gauche somehow?
- As I have said earlier, the increased emphasis on modesty doesn't really concern me, but as it is I spend a not insignificant part of my day already carefully thinking through my wardrobe choices.
- Likewise, the husband and I have adapted pretty well to the everyday rules regarding avoiding public displays of affection, so I don't think the additional emphasis on keeping those rules will affect us at all.
- The reportedly dangerous traffic around the time everyone is rushing home to break their fast gives me pause, however, because it must be truly awful for everyone to comment on it at all, since bad traffic is usually just a given here. Apparently, it is quite dangerous to be on the roads around sunset, so we will plan our trips accordingly.
- Our compound is maybe 60/40 non-Muslims to Muslims, so we shall see how the noisy nighttime celebrations play out here. My children sleep with the incredibly loud air conditioner going in their room, which also faces a vacant lot beyond our backyard, so they should be fairly shielded from any noise. We do the same in our room, though our window looks out onto the compound itself, but usually our air conditioner drowns out almost everything.
I realize as I type this that my nervousness about all these trivial issues is completely ridiculous and I've already worked out solutions for most potential areas of concern, but I feel a little anxiety nonetheless. Mainly, I'm just worried about the unknown. We have never experienced Ramadan before, let alone in a Muslim country, so I just don't know a whole lot about how things work here. And those of you who know me know I really, really don't like not knowing what's going on at all times! Next year, Ramadan starts two weeks earlier, while school is still in session, supposedly, though I have heard that our academic schedule will be adjusted accordingly, so I'll be interested to see how that works, particularly as the boys' school is predominantly Arabic right now. I will, of course, let you know how it goes at the end of the month this year. We shall see!
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